The team behind FiveThirtyEight’s flagship politics podcast is launching a new show, aiming to continue its data-driven, nonpartisan approach despite operating within a progressive media company. Nate Silver, Clare Malone and Galen Drake announced they will host “Still Counting,” a weekly podcast set to debut this week under the Crooked Media network, which was founded by former Obama administration officials.
FiveThirtyEight, known for its statistical analysis and accurate election forecasting, had been shuttered by its previous owner Disney in early 2025 amid company-wide cuts. The site’s closure followed a series of ownership changes, including licenses with major outlets such as The New York Times, ESPN and ABC News. Disney also removed the site’s archives from the internet in May 2025. Silver, who left FiveThirtyEight in 2023, has continued to write a popular Substack newsletter that covers politics, sports and artificial intelligence, amassing more than 320,000 subscribers.
Despite transitioning to Crooked Media—a platform with a distinctly progressive reputation driven by shows like “Pod Save America”—the hosts emphasized their intent to maintain a fact-based, nonpartisan tone. Silver said the new show would target an audience interested in rigorous analysis without a partisan filter. “There is a market for people who think politics is important, are intellectually interested in it and think it’s high stakes, but don’t want things filtered through a partisan lens,” he explained.
Crooked Media chief executive Lucinda Treat acknowledged the company’s progressive background but underscored a commitment to supporting the hosts’ independent editorial stance, noting the network’s growing focus on issues like artificial intelligence and prediction markets. She said the collaboration resulted from shared interests in providing fact-driven, actionable political insight.
Silver, Malone and Drake first hosted the “FiveThirtyEight Politics” podcast from 2016 to 2020 and recently hosted sold-out live shows in New York City, indicating continued audience demand for their brand of election analysis blended with conversational banter. “There is an election nerd community out there that has been following a lot of our work even since we’ve left FiveThirtyEight that’s been rooting for a reunion,” Drake said.
The new show will cover the 2026 midterm elections while expanding its scope to address emerging topics such as the influence of artificial intelligence on politics and the growing role of betting markets. Malone highlighted the program’s aim to tackle “the big existential questions of politics,” while Drake noted the increased skepticism surrounding polling and data. He stressed the importance of understanding the limitations of polling rather than dismissing it outright.
All three hosts will continue their other professional endeavors alongside the podcast. Silver maintains his Substack newsletter, Malone is on leave from The New Yorker to work on a book about the Make America Healthy Again movement, and Drake hosts his own podcast and newsletter, “GD Politics.” The inaugural episode of “Still Counting” is scheduled for release on Wednesday.